These flooded Easter biscuits may seem daunting but are a really great way to incorporate some family fun into your kitchen this Easter weekend. Packed into little bags, they make the most perfect homemade Easter gifts.
HANDS-ON TIME 30 min | TOTAL TIME 2 hr 30 min + cooling & drying | SERVES 6-8
INGREDIENTS
BISCUITS
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla essence
ROYAL ICING
- 2 egg whites
- 700g icing sugar
- 2 tsp lemon juice
TO ASSEMBLE
- Plastic piping bags
- Nozzles
- Plastic gift bags
METHOD
BISCUITS
WHISK flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
BEAT butter and sugar with an electric beater on high speed for 2 mins until pale and smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.
ADD the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix on low until combined, using your hands to bring the dough together towards the end. The dough will be relatively soft. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for rolling, add 1 more tablespoon of flour.
DIVIDE the dough in half and place each portion onto a piece of lightly floured baking paper. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/2 cm thickness, using more flour if the dough is too sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour until firm.
PREHEAT the oven to 175°C. Line 2-3 large baking sheets with baking paper. Cut out desired shapes from the sheets of dough, rerolling any scraps until the dough is used up.
ARRANGE biscuits on baking sheets a few centimetres apart to accommodate spreading. Bake for 10-12 min or until lightly golden around the edges. Allow to cool.
ROYAL ICING
WHIP the egg whites until foaming. Add the icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time until incorporated, then add the lemon juice. Thin down the icing with a few teaspoons of water at a time until the icing is soft & pipeable but not too runny.
DIVIDE the royal icing between bowls and mix in your desired food colouring. Keep the icings covered with a piece of cling film pressed directly onto the surface until ready to use.
ASSEMBLE
FILL piping bags with each of the icing colours and cut off the tip.
PIPE along the borders for the biscuits and allow to dry for 30 seconds. Fill with the next colour of choice, being sure to “flood” as much of the biscuit as possible. Using a toothpick or a skewer, swirl the icing into the gaps and allow to dry. Fill in the remaining details. Allow the biscuits to completely set before packing into gift bags.
ALSO SEE: Nectarine and pistachio preserve
A food stylist and recipe developer, contributing to Food & Home and other esteemed magazines under Habari Media. I love for creating mouthwatering recipes, I bring culinary visions to life through my work.